Westminster



A. T. DAWSON AND G. T. BUCKHAM.

ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9,1919.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

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ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON AND GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAIVI, OF' WESTMINSTER,

LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO ENGLAND.

VICKERS LIMITED, OF WESTMINSTER,

ORDNANCE.

Application filed July 9,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, Sir ARTHUR Tnnvor. Dawson, knight, and Sir GrnononTrror'ms BUGKHAM, knight, both subjects of the King of Great Britain,residing at Vickcrs House, Broadway, YVestminster, in the county ofLondon, England, have invented certain new and useful Tinprovements inor Relating to @rdnance, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to ordnance in which the barrel recoils on slidesor guides on the cradle and is particularly applicable to such ordnancein which the barrel has lateral keys or fins and the slides or guidesare constituted by grooves in which the said keys or fins work.

According to the invention we provide an improved device for lubricatingthe slides or guides this device comprising suitably formed pads orother members which are supplied'with lubricant and which brush over ormove in contact with the bearing surfaces of the slides or guides duringthe recoil and run-out movements of the gun. The said pads, which mayconveniently be made of felt, may be carried by metal structures orcastings attached in any suitable manner to each side of the barrel andmay be disposed in recesses communicating'by passages with lubricantchambers forming part of the castings, these chambers being filled orpartly filled with a suitable lubricant such as a mixture of oil andgraphite which by gravity is supplied through the said passages to therecesses and thus reaches the pads. V

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, the same will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which V Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a gun with part of the cradle in section, showing more orless diagrammatically a constructional form of our improved lubricatingdevice, Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. l with part of the gun barrel removedand with part of the cradle shown in section, and,

Fig.' 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 2 anddrawn to an enlarged scale.

A is the gun barrel and A is the cradle which in the example shown haslongi Specification of letters Patent.

Letters Patent of the United States is Patented 0a. 12, 1920.

Serial No. 309,725.

tudinal grooves a, a in which work lateral keys or'fins on the barrel,one of these keys being shown at a in Fig. 1. B, B represent theaforesaid metal castings each attached to the barrel by a dowel pin 72and to the tank D hereinafter referred to by a screw wall of the groovect and the other with the lower wall of the groove, thereby effec tivelylubricating both the bearing surfaces with which each key moves incontact. The improved lubricating device is shown as being used inconjunction with ordnance provided with a liquid reservoir or tank D forthe recoil or brake cylinder as described in the specification of one ofour patent applications filed concurrently herewith, the said reservoirhaving lateral keys or fins d, d which also work in the grooves a a;

the aforesaid castings in this case extend from the said reservoir ortank to the keys on the barrel and abut at their front ends against therear part of the reservoir or tank and at their rear ends against thefront surfaces of the keys. The aforesaid pads and the lubricant chamberare preferably as shown arranged at or near the center of the castingsand the portions of the latter situatedin front of and behind these padsare formed with lateral projections 6*, 6* fitting within the grooves a,a, in the cradle for the purpose of excluding dust from these grooves.

What -we claim and desire to secure by 1. In ordnance, the combinationwith gun barrel and the cradle having su"' on which the barrel slides,of struct ried by the barrel, lubricant chamb "W ing part of saidstructures and which are carried by said structures supplied withlubricant from said for automatically lubricating said during the recoiland run-out movem-nts of the barrel.

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2. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel and the cradlehaving surfaces on which'the barrel slides, of structures connected tothe barrel one on each side thereof, lubricant chambers forming part01"? said structures, absorbent pads which are sup plied with lubricant"from said chambers and which move in contact with said surfaces on thecradle during the recoil and run-out movements of the barrel, and meansfor carrying said pads in said structure.

3. In ordnance, the combination with the gun'barrel, lateral keys on thebarrel, and the cradle having longitudinal grooves in which said keyswork, of structures connected to the barrel one on each side thereof,lubricant chambers forming part or" said structures, absorbent pads ofwhich some are in contact with the upper walls of said grooves and theothers are in contact with the lower walls and which are supplied withlubricant from said chambers and means for carrying said pads in saidstructures.

l. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel, lateral keys on thebarrel, and the cradle having longitudinal grooves in which said keyswork, of structures connected to the barrel one on each side thereof,lubricant chambers forming part of said structures, absorbent pads ofwhich some are in contact with the upper walls of said grooves and theother are in contact with the lower walls and which are supplied withlubricant from said chambers, means for carrying said pads in saidstructures and lateral projections on said structures extending fromsaid. pads to the keys on the barrel and fitting within the grooves inthe cradle.

In testimony whereor" we affix our signatures.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAXVSON. GEQRGE THOMAS BUCKHAM.

